harrow

¹ American  

[har-oh] / ˈhær oʊ /

noun

1. an agricultural implement with spikelike teeth or upright disks, drawn chiefly over plowed land to level it, break up clods, root up weeds, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to draw a harrow over (land).

2. to disturb keenly or painfully; distress the mind, feelings, etc., of.

verb (used without object)

1. to become broken up by harrowing, as soil.

harrow ² American  

[har-oh] / ˈhær oʊ /

verb (used with object)

Archaic.

1. to ravish; violate; despoil.

2. harry.

3. (of Christ) to descend into (hell) to free the righteous held captive.

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Harrow ³ American  

[har-oh] / ˈhær oʊ /

noun

1. a borough of Greater London, in SE England.

2. a boarding school for boys, founded in 1571 at Harrow-on-the-Hill, an urban district near London, England.

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harrow ¹ British  

/ ˈhærəʊ /

noun

1. any of various implements used to level the ground, stir the soil, break up clods, destroy weeds, etc, in soil

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verb

1. (tr) to draw a harrow over (land)

2. (intr) (of soil) to become broken up through harrowing

3. (tr) to distress; vex

harrow ² British  

/ ˈhærəʊ /

verb

1. to plunder or ravish

2. (of Christ) to descend into (hell) to rescue righteous souls

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Harrow ³ British  

/ ˈhærəʊ /

noun

1. a borough of NW Greater London; site of an English boys' public school founded in 1571 at Harrow-on-the-Hill, a part of this borough. Pop: 210 700 (2003 est). Area: 51 sq km (20 sq miles)

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Other Word Forms

• harrower noun
• harrowing adjective
• harrowment noun

Etymology

Origin of harrow¹

1250–1300; Middle English harwe; akin to Old Norse herfi harrow, Dutch hark rake, Greek krṓpion sickle

Origin of harrow²

before 1000; Middle English harwen, herwen, Old English hergian to harry

Explanation

To harrow is to cause worry and upset, the way a truly scary movie might harrow you, making it hard to sleep without turning on the light. Harrow is an uncommon verb that was originally used in a religious context. You're much more likely to hear the adjective harrowing used for things that are extremely distressing. But if your cat torments you nightly with her incessant meowing, you might try yelling, "Why do you harrow me?" In agriculture, harrow has a completely different meaning: it's a device that helps break up the soil. And if you harrow your land, you use such a device.

Example Sentences

Track maintenance will then harrow the track to release the compactness and return it to its regular consistency for racing.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2021

Alcée rode his horse under the shelter of a side projection where the chickens had huddled and there were plows and a harrow piled up in the corner.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

In her diary entry for July 15, 1944, Anne Frank wrote words that would harrow and challenge generations not yet born: “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2019

Called DISCOL, the simple trial involved raking the centre of a roughly 11-square-kilometre plot in the Pacific Ocean with an 8-metre-wide implement called a plough harrow.

From Nature • Jul. 23, 2019

After the plow comes the harrow, with its heavy creaking disks, and then the people with hoes and seeds.

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien

Related Words

• afflict
• annoy
• bedevil
• bother
• harass
• hound
• hurt
• irritate
• mistreat
• molest
• nag
• pester
• plague
• smite
• tease
• torture
• vex